Flagstaff Has Some Community Gardens -- What Are They and Should We Have More?

This is from a presentation made to the Flagstaff Sustainability Commission in June 2007:

Hi, my name is Lisa Rayner. I am a resident of Flagstaff.  I am also the author of the book, Growing Food in the Southwest Mountains, an organic gardening guide for our climate. I am here today to advocate for a community garden on city-owned land.

Who on this commission knows what a community garden is? A community garden is a public, park-like place that has individual garden plots available for members of the public to rent on a yearly or seasonal basis for growing vegetables, herbs, fruit, flowers and other plants. While community gardens are most useful for residents who live in apartments and townhomes, and therefore have no land of their own, community gardens are also popular with home owners and renters who find gardening to be more enjoyable when done cooperatively with their neighbors rather than alone. Children, the elderly and handicapped people are also beneficiaries of community gardens. Community gardens are usually run democratically by their members. In addition to the planting beds, community gardens are also great places for community gatherings like neighborhood potlucks, free talks on a variety of subjects, and sometimes even musical performances and plays.

The Flagstaff 20/20 visioning process that took place with extensive citizen input in 1997 included community gardens in its wish list for the year 2020: In the document, “A Vision for Our Community,” in the Protecting the Environment section, on p. 19, it says, “Community gardens that employ water-conserving, organic gardening techniques are strongly promoted and supported. Compost and mulch are available for these gardens through a community and debris recycling program.”

Some of you are no doubt aware of the community garden at the New Start School on Mogollon Street just a few blocks north of here founded more than 20 years ago. In the last seven years, Flagstaff residents have founded several more community gardens around Flagstaff. The Southside Community Garden just north of NAU is probably the best known community garden. I am the coordinator for the Juniper Street Community Garden which is a few blocks north of the hospital. I myself live in a townhouse and greatly appreciate the opportunity to have several plots at the Juniper Street Garden. We charge only $30 per year for renting a single plot; the cost includes all the water needed for the year as well as the use of gardening tools we keep stored in a small shed.

The drawback to all of the community gardens except for New Start is that they are on privately owned land. For example, Juniper Street Garden is on land owned by Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. While we are grateful for the generosity of the landowners, this situation means that the gardens have no guaranteed long-term stability. The landowners have the right to take away the gardens at any time and use or develop the land as they see fit. For those of us who garden on private land, it imparts a sense of insecurity about our plots. How much time and effort do we put into planting crops that could be theoretically taken away at any time? The situation also inhibits long-term planning for the gardens and the installation of more permanent plantings and structures, such as wind breaks, rainwater harvesting systems, shade trees, community fruit orchards, and gathering places for neighborhood events. For example, a beautiful adobe earth oven was constructed by volunteers a few years ago at the Southside Garden, but further improvements have not been forthcoming due to the precariousness of the situation.

Those of us who have discussed this problem feel that the solution is to create community gardens on city-owned land that would be given a measure of reassurance that the gardens would exist in perpetuity. I propose today that the city begin by providing land for one community garden to allow community garden advocates to demonstrate what can be done, with the idea that more gardens could be considered in the future. As Flagstaff continues to develop and lose many formerly open spaces, this is an ideal time to map out possible locations for community gardens on city land. Like other community gardens, we would hope to have members of the city garden run the garden through consensus. If this idea goes ahead, I would be happy to come back and talk about this in more detail. But for now, I ask you to consider the idea and begin to discuss a possible location for such a garden.